Marina has yesterday released a ‘stripped,’ version of her new single ‘Man’s World,’ which has been out since the 18th of November. The refined take on the singer’s new tune is a simple production with just a simple piano accompaniment and Marina’s distinctive, crisp vocal. The purity and simplicity of this version is really well suited to the lyrical content of the song, which is heavily critical of the highly industrialised ‘Man’s World,’ we live in today.
Many of the hottest talking points in todays world, global warming, poverty, racism and sexism are all products of the patriarchal industrial age which prioritises technological or economic progress over people and quality of life. It is this which Marina is opposed to in this song and the stripped version is a great and subtle protest, rejecting the excessive production techniques which dominate the pop music of today in favour of the more natural, unplugged sound of a piano and a voice.
It’s been a year since Marina last released an album, 2019’s ‘Love + Fear,’ which was her first after dropping the ‘& The Diamonds,’ part from her name and the begging of a new, more mature approach to songwriting which began to transcend the kooky yet appealing aesthetic of her breakthrough work. While the new aesthetic didn’t earn her quite the widespread success of 2012’s ‘Electric Heart,’ which was a UK number 1 album, she does seem to have grown up a lot since then, and this year’s ‘Man’s World,’ is teasing a new album which is not only grown up and mature but also oozes colour.
The video for ‘Man’s World,’ is as colourful as the music itself and has a really refreshing Greek feel with Marina and her fellow ladies wearing beautiful colourful robes which could have easily been worn in the finest households of the bronze age. The video share’s the lyric’s yearning for simpler times past, in the pre-industrial age when life could be lived simply and when technological warfare had not developed to the point where entire civilisations could be wiped out with the press of a button. The video yearns for a simple life, as does the simple delivery of the stripped version of ‘Man’s World,’ which Marina has kindly released so soon after the full single.
While there has been no official announcement as to when we might be expecting Marina’s next studio album, there is no doubt that the theme of female empowerment will be a strong feature, with previous posts to her social media referring to stories which ‘can only be told by women,’ and this has certainly been played out in ‘Man’s World,’ which is probably the most pro-female song of this year without being overtly sexual as the likes of ‘WAP,’ have been.
As well as not knowing when they might hear the next album, Marina’s fans will also be anxiously awaiting news of a potential tour, a chance to see ‘Man’s World,’ live and in person.
